Switch



E. 0. ANDERSON.

SWITCH.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 15, 1918.

1,898,533, Patented Nov. 29, 1921.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFIQE.

EDWIN O. ANDERSON, OF JERSEY CITY, NEW JERSEY.

SWITCH.

Application filed January 15, 1918.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, EDWIN O. ANnnnsoN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Jersey City, in the county of Hudson and State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Impr vements in Switches, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to an improvement in switch apparatus and is especially directed to switches for use in connection with door locks for elevators wherein, unless the door is closed and locked, the elevator may not be started. In apparatus of this type it is customary to lead the conduits for the electric cables through what is generally known as a knock-out conduit box, which is merely an iron box set into the door j amb and having a series of perforations to enable the box to be set in any position to accommodate conditions met in a particular job. The switch heretofore has been secured to the inside of this box and is connected to the electric cables in such a way that when the door or gate is closed, the latch thereof will engage the switch to close a circuit, after which the elevator car may be operated in the usual way.

In apparatus of this type it is frequently necessary to make repairs to the switch, and at such times it is often awkward to get at the switch parts to make such repairs, sometimes necessitating that the conduit box be taken out. This involves a great deal of unnecessary trouble. The door jamb may be all marked up and in the meantime the elevator is out of commission. with the present apparatus this trouble and delay is avoided by reason of the fact that I have devised a switch which is mounted directly on the cover plate for the conduit box, and for this reason it is a simple matter to make repairs to the switch, necessitating merely the removal of the cover, which at the same time will remove the switch bodily. In the case 01 making repairs to an old type of switch I may merely take out the switch on tirely and substitute my improved switch therefor.

01 course I want it understood that this switch apparatus is not limited to use with elevator systems as it is very well adapted for use in connection with alarm boxes, for instance, or for use with any kind of door or window, or the like, where it may be desired to operate some form of a signal, either visual or auditory.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 29, 1921.

Serial No. 211,914.

In the drawings accompanying this application I have shown the switch apparatus as applied to a conduit box in connection with a door lock.

Figure 1 shows the switch in plan.

Fig. 2 shows the switch in place on a conduit box of the knock-out type;

Fig. 3 shows a modification of the apparatus of Fig. 1 in elevation.

Fig. 4 shows the apparatus of Fig. 3 in closed position.

Referring to the drawings in detail, 1 designates a knock-out conduit box which is merely an iron box adapted to be set in the door jamb in the usual way, the conduits which are not shown, being led through the box through any one or several of the knock-outs designated 2. A cover designated 3 is applied to the box and held in place'thereon by fiat head screws i i, this cover or covering being provided with an orifice 5 adapted to receive the latch designated 6 in Fig. 3. This latch may be or" any desired type of course, being shown here merely by way of illustration. I wish to call attention at this time to the fact that substituted for the latch 6 to actuate the switch, as is now used with certain types of elevator gates, wherein the roller is mounted on the top of, the gate and engages the switch when the gate is in closed position. The cover 3 carries a pivoted member 7 pivoted at 8 to bosses 9 and 10, cast integral with the cover 3. Mounted on the member 7 and secured thereto by screws 11 and 12 is a contact member 13, preferably of copper, this-member 13 being insulated from the member 7 by a piece of fiber 14. The upper end of the contact 13, as viewed in Fig. 1, is adapted to engage binding posts 15 and 16 set into a fiber piece 17 secured to the cover 3, so that the posts will be insulated from the cover. One of the electric cables which is led through the conduit box 1 may be cut and have one end fastened to the binding post 15 and the other end to the binding post 16 in the usual way, so that when the contact 13 is actuated, the circuit through the cable will be completed. The switch is so set that it always opens by gravity and will remain open so long as the latch of the door is not in engagement with the member 7. When the door is closed, however, the latch engaging the member 7 closes the switch and completes the circuit,

as pointed out, and I wish to call attention switch, the contact member 13 is flexed slightlyjust sufiicient to wipe the tops of the binding posts 15 and 16, which is of distinct advantage in that the tops of the binding posts and the contact member 13 will always be in a perfectly clean condition which, as is well known, is necessary to obtain a perfect contact. In applying this switch to a job it is a simple matter to apply the cover 3 to the box and screw in the screws 4. No skilled labor is required and it only takes a few minutes to set the switch in place. Should the switch get out of order for any reasonwhatever, byremoving the cover 3 V the whole switch is removed from the box 7 and repairs may be made thereto.

In the modification of Figs. 3 and 4c the construction is very similar to that just described, the member 7 corresponding to the member '7 of Fig.1, and the contact'piece 13 corresponding to the contact 13 of Fig. 1. lhe member 7 is pivoted on bosses 18 and carries the contact piece 13 insulated therefromby fiber 19. The only departure in this embodiment from that of Figs. 1 and 2 is that the switch member 13 has a tail 2O entering a slot 21 in the fiber 19 and is held in place on the fiber, and, therefore, on the member 7' by a screw 21 passing through the contact member and having a spring thereon also engaging the contact member so that, as the door latch 6 engages the member 7 to close the switch, the member 13 will wipe the tops of the binding posts for the purpose of. maintaining both contact 'member and posts in a clean condition. The

binding posts are insulated from the cover, which I will designate 3 in this instance, by means of a fiber piece 17. V

I do not wish to be limited to the exact details of construction herein illustrated and described, as I appreciate that those skilled in this art might make changes therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. The important feature of this invention is that the switch is mounted on thecover and whenever the at this time to the fact that closing the.

as distinguished from switches for the pur- V pose for which this switch is designed now known invthe art, wherein the switch and cover for the boxes are separate.

Havingthus pointed out the principal features of my invention, what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent of the United States is 2- V 1. In an inclosed switch adapted to be actuated to closed position by the tongue of a latch, the combination of a plate [provided with an aperture through which the tongue of the latch by which the switch is to be operated, is adapted to pass, a pair of binding posts insulated from each other,

mounted upon said plate adjacent the aperture therein, a switch arm carried by said plate, a contact mounted upon said lastnamed member and moved thereby .under the action of the latch tongue into 'position to bridge said binding posts, saidcontactbeing insulated'from the switch arm by which 1 it is sustained and from said plate, and movable automatically under the action of gravity to open position when the latch tongue is retracted.

2. In an inclosed switch mechanism the combination of a latch member, a plate havg ing an aperture adapted to rece ve said latch member, and switch mechanism in sulated from and carried wholly by said plate and adapted to be actuated to closed position by insertion of said latch member in the aperture of said plate.

3. In an inclosed switch the combination of a plate having an aperture, a movable member positioned opposite said aperture, a contact carried thereby, and stationary binding posts adapted to be bridged by said cont-acts, said movable member and said posts being positioned -wholly upon the under side of said plate and wholly carried thereby, said contact being insulated from said movable-memberand the binding posts being insulated from each other and from said plate.

EDWIN o. ANDERSON. 

